Beirut Critical Mass Bike Rides

Critical Mass bike rides take place monthly in cities around the world. They are free mass participatory events, with no leaders or fixed agendas. However, the broad aim is to celebrate cycling and sustainable transport, and to give cyclists safety in numbers. The Critical Mass Beirut, Lebanon take place on the last Saturday of every month, The first of which will be this Saturday October 31st. Meeting point in Sanayeh Park at 12pm.Credits: Picture

Sanayeh Park, in Beirut, Lebanon

Update: Success! The 1st Critical Mass started with 3 people, 4 other joined later, for a total of 7 bikers. Hopefully, this number will be increased tenfold after a few months 2 newspapers were there to cover the event: The Dailystar:

Salloum said he had recently traveled to Amsterdam and Seattle, where he was impressed by the provisions made for cyclists. Measures such as separate traffic lights and dedicated bike-only streets created an environment which encouraged people to commute by bicycle. Large municipal parks allow space for people to cycle without any danger from traffic, a problem Salloum sees as the biggest threat to cyclists in Beirut.

…the number of participants is rising – last weekend brought in 25 riders as opposed to October’s run, which drew seven participants in spite of rainfall. “I have no doubt we will soon reach the hundreds, and who knows, maybe one day, we’ll hit a 1,000,” he says, pointing to examples in other cities where participants reached well into the thousands…

johnwendle said,

hello hello! If you get this – I’ll be in Beirut March 12. Do you know where i could rent a bike for a few days? Unfortunately I won’t be around for the big ride, but I love riding and would love to explore the city that way. I can be reached at johnwendle at gmail.com Thanks!
john

B-Shaar said,

[…] Although it is a small loop inside the city, and that it is only opened for a few hours on Sundays, it is nevertheless a small step forward towards a green and sustainable transport mentality in the ‘my car is bigger than yours’ society, and a victory for the bikers in Lebanon. […]

valerie said,

i’ll be in beirut for two years starting in september 2010 and i am very much looking forward to joining you guys. i’m from boulder, colorado where biking is taken quite seriously and the county has built extensive trails for bikers. maybe one day beirut will do likewise!

Jonah said,

Hello! We are two critical mass riders from France who will be in Beirut for your August critical mass. We both volunteer at bicycle workshops where we teach people how to fix and recycle bicycles. Are the rides still happening the last Saturday of every month? We would like to meet you guys and share ideas! email me at jonahmcg@gmail.com